'Sweeney Todd' nabs eight Elly awards

Tuesday

Sep 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM

It was bloody. It was stirring. It was sold out almost every night.

The Record

It was bloody. It was stirring. It was sold out almost every night.

Stockton Civic Theatre's production of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" also is a winner, capturing eight Elly Awards during the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance awards ceremony on Sunday.

Delta College's production of "A Lie of the Mind" also won two awards.

For the first time in 31 years of Elly Awards, Stockton Civic Theatre won best overall production, taking the honor for the Stephen Sondheim musical it staged in the summer of 2012.

"The competition is tremendous," said Kevin Costello, who played Sweeney Todd and became artistic director of SCT in July. "They said there were (163) productions entered in the adult division. SCT has never won the overall award, so it's quite a big thing."

Jim Coleman, who won as best director and best musical director, said the acknowledgement from SARTA was long in coming.

"Theaters down in this area seldom get anything," Coleman said.

Sacramento-area shows tended to dominate the Ellys, Coleman said, but the frustration ended when "Sweeney Todd," in addition to best production, best director and best musical director won Ellys for Cathy Hastings and Kathie Dixon for costumes, Brian Johnson for the set, Nathan Neill for sound and Terry Smith for lighting.

Elizabeth Costello, who played the beggar woman, won the only acting award for Sweeney Todd, taking home best supporting actress in a musical.

"The theater was taking a big chance," Coleman said. "The board passed it, but they didn't think it would do well. It sold 94 percent and ... for it to be recognized in such a way is so great for the theater. They took a chance that paid off, and it means they can keep doing that."

About 15 members of the "Sweeney Todd" cast and crew attended, although Coleman, who's teaching his annual musical theater class at the University of Nevada at Reno, was unable to be there because of snow in the mountains. They sat next to members of the Delta production, which earned Ellys for Kevin Bautch for set design and for Harvey Jordan for sound design.

"It was big for Stockton," Costello said. "Everyone in the room was looking our way and we can feel people going, 'what?'"